News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup

Ohio Construction Ruling Overturned on Appeal

An Ohio appeals court last week overturned a judge's ruling on a
$6.1 million school contract, but supported her overall concerns about
how a state school commission awarded $2 billion in school construction
contracts.

The three-member 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals, in Franklin
County, unanimously overturned a May ruling by Franklin County Common
Pleas Judge Jennifer L. Brunner. She had ruled that Randall A. Fischer,
then the executive director of the Ohio School Facilities Commission,
had overstepped his authority in approving a construction contract for
the 800-student Tri-Village district in western Ohio. Mr. Fischer
supported Tri-Village's decision to reject the lowest bidder,
Cincinnati-based Monarch Construction Co.

The state appellate court ruled that Tri-Village's decision was not
arbitrary, and that "the contract at issue ... does not require a
signature" from the school facilities commission, according to court
documents.

Judge Brunner wrote in her decision that because the three-member
commission had given Mr. Fischer the authority to approve contracts
without a full meeting of the board, the state's competitive-bid
process was a "sham," calling into question some 1,800 contracts Mr.
Fischer had approved.

The appellate court replied that the commission "arguably" had
failed to properly approve those contracts, but that because the
commission had retroactively awarded them after the Judge Brunner's
ruling in May, the contracts were valid.

Mr. Fischer, who had taken office with the commission's creation in
1997, resigned last summer amid allegations of having violated state
ethics laws. He could not be reached for comment last week.

"It's a huge burden off my shoulders," said Mr. Fischer, who now
consults districts on school planning and construction. "It's a very
large win. It reaffirms what the commission is doing, that it's
policies and procedures were fine."

—Rhea R. Borja

Siegelman Acknowledges Defeat In Tight Alabama Governor's Race

Almost two weeks after voters went to the polls to choose a governor in
Alabama, incumbent Gov. Donald Siegelman last week abandoned his hopes
for a statewide recount and conceded defeat to his Republican
opponent.

The Democrat had declared victory on election night until officials
in Baldwin County, a Republican stronghold, reported a computer problem
had overstated nearly 7,000 votes for the governor out of the roughly
1.3 million cast. Gov.- elect Bob Riley, a three-term U.S.
representative, then jumped ahead by a slim margin. The next day, each
man declared himself governor.

Mr. Siegelman, who has championed the cause of increased school
funding during his one term, initially demanded a statewide
recount.

But without a specific recount law in Alabama, election officials
could not agree on a course of action. The state's Republican attorney
general ruled that without a court order, a recount would be illegal. A
Tuscaloosa County judge ruled against a recount request from the
Siegelman campaign.

"It would hurt Alabama more to put Alabama through this divisive
time," Gov. Siegelman said at a Nov. 18 news briefing to announce his
concession.

—John Gehring

Georgia Board Voids Contracts Approved by State Schools Chief

The Georgia board of education has voted to void more than $500,000
in contracts that members say outgoing state schools Superintendent
Linda C. Schrenko authorized without their approval.

The money went to various Georgia contractors for educational
software for deaf and gifted students.

Board members argue that the services were unnecessary, that the
contracts had not been out for competitive bids, and that Ms. Schrenko
had sidestepped a law requiring board approval for contracts over
$50,000.

While each of the 11 contracts was under that amount, they totaled
$531,894, and all went to companies owned by the same small group of
business people.

In an e-mail she sent to a local television reporter in October, Ms.
Schrenko called the expenditures her "parting gift" to students, saying
that they had not received spending increases from the legislature
during her two terms.

Ms. Schrenko, a Republican who lost a bid in August for the
Republican nomination for governor, will leave office in January. She
could not be reached for comment.

Merle Temple, a deputy superintendent in the state education
department, said the board "cannot void contracts to which it is not a
party," and called the board's action "a last-gasp effort by bitter,
partisan Democrats who because of the November elections, will be out
of power in January."

Democratic Gov. Roy E. Barnes, who lost his re-election bid earlier
this month, appointed the members of the school board.

—Linda Jacobson

Vol. 22, Issue 13, Page 18

Published in Print: November 27, 2002, as News in Brief: A State Capitals Roundup

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